Saints training camp is back, and the local media got their first glimpse of the team on Thursday morning. Here's some notes and observations from the practice session.
Attendance
Grant Haley was on the only absence from the practice session. Sean Payton said that it was due to a personal reason, the passing of his father. Other than that, everyone was present and accounted for.
Quarterback Fun
Taysom Hill took all first-team reps in practice. As we warned you in our important things to remember at training camp article, don't overreact based on one day. Jameis Winston looked good in his reps. Both were wearing gloves on their non-throwing hands, while Trevor Siemian and Ian Book were not.
Starting Rotation and Notes
Here's how the offensive starters shaped out during various walkthrough points.
- QB: Taysom Hill
- RB: Alvin Kamara (FB Alex Armah rotated in as well)
- WR: Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harris (slot), Tre'Quan Smith
- TE: Adam Trautman (Nick Vannett also had a couple reps on two tight end sets)
- OL: Terron Armstead, Andrus Peat, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Ryan Ramczyk
Here's what the defense looked like.
- DE: Cam Jordan, Marcus Davenport
- DT: David Onyemata, Shy Tuttle
- LB: Kaden Elliss, Zack Baun, Demario Davis
- CB: Patrick Robinson (left), Marshon Lattimore (right)
- S: Marcus Williams, Malcolm Jenkins
Wide receiver pairings included Marquez Callaway (who was still wearing No. 12) and Tre'Quan Smith, Deonte Harris and Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Easop Winston Jr. and Jake Lampman, Ty Montgomery and Jalen McCleskey, and Kawaan Baker and Chris Hogan.
Noah Spence lined up in all of his reps at outside linebacker, while Malcolm Roach and Jalen Dalton rotated as the secondary interior defensive pairing.
Juwan Johnson lined up at tight end, and he should be staying there. He had a good hookup from Jameis Winston in one of the team drills. Ty Montgomery, Adam Trautman, and Alex Armah had some outside looks at receiver. Montgomery also lined up as a gunner opposite of J.T. Gray.
Rhythm and Flow
Today's practice saw a good bit of positional drills, with two quarterbacks throwing to a wide receiver for each one. Offensive line was working on 1-on-1 rush drills, and each position group was doing respective drills.
There was some special teams work involving Blake Gillikin and Nolan Cooney and holding duties. They had some work on both sides of the formation, with the following lineup from left to right: Adam Trautman, Cesar Ruiz, Ryan Ramczyk, Ethan Greenidge, Zach Wood, Will Clapp, James Hurst, Andrus Peat, and Garrett Griffin.
We got some 11-on-11 looks too, with Taysom Hill hitting his passes. However, on one rep, he would have been sacked by Cam Jordan, but opted to escape the pocket and take off running.
Perhaps the best play of the day was on a screen pass from Hill to Alvin Kamara. Erik McCoy had some real speed along with Andrus Peat, doing an excellent job getting out in space. The other play would be Jameis Winston hitting Deonte Harris on a deep completion on the left sideline, which saw J.T. Gray bite on a pump fake. Brian Poole was in coverage.
Tomorrow's practice will be open to the fans, and will surely bring some interesting looks as the team moves outdoors.
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